Wednesday, November 25, 2009

FOR ERIK VILLANUEVA (and other friends):It’s taking me too long to finish my answer to you about my description of ms. risa hontiveros. Laging may kulang sa naisusulat ko na; I don’t find my descriptions so far doing her justice, kaya I can’t post it yet as my full answer to you. Pero I would like immediately to at least partially quench your curiosity about the binomial term I have been using to describe her: “Blessed Heroine,” kaya heto na muna:

1. Her being a heroine in my view comes from her consistent predisposition to take the cudgels for the marginalized sectors in our society, to be firm and even fierce (albeit non-violently so) to promote and protect their (our?) interests and rights, willing to face great inconveniences, politician insults, and even truncheons and water cannons. And as I understand it, her love for the least of our brethren, the marginalized Filipinos, is the concrete expression of her great love for our Inang Bayan.

2. About her being “blessed,” She has long been blessed with spiritual maturity, manifested in her equanimity, humility and very approachable nature, it would take so much to get her angry (unless it’s the people’s interests being jeopardized) and her being very forgiving and broadminded.

Some people who have been privileged to get to know her better than I ever can should think seriously about helping write a book about her. It would be a great book mainly because of the subject herself and her attributes. And it would also be a very precious inspirational book for Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike for very educational reading and very challenging emulation.cheers!ed/ding reyessubic, zambales

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Along the path of human evolution, wars are the proof that we are still in the pre-human stage, where the peace we still have to work for is still just a series of precarious ceasefires, where the logic of force prevails over the force of logic, and where antagonism and conflict are presumed until unity is proven and made stable.november 22, 2009

(This is the English translation of “Pahayag ng Kapasyahan at Panawagan ng mga Tagapagsulong ng BALIK-BAYANIHAN,” prepared for signing by individuals and organizations on November 20, 2009 or afterwards.)

The undersigned citizens and organizations – all invoking our honor, goodwill and self-trust to do everything that we carefully decide to do, and also our honor to fulfill everything that we promise – now freely, clearly and firmly commit to diligently and deeply study for skillfull and consistent practice the Bayanihan Principle which is a valuable endowment from our heroic ancestors.

We shall seek out and test all fields of endeavor where we can appropriately apply the Bayanihan Principle, not only during periods of emergency and calamity but also in our contemporary daily lives of developing and actualizing ourselves as individual humans and as harmoniously interacting humans.

We shall bring back the Bayanihan Principle of trust-based synergetics to our social mainstream in order to ensure for our Mother Nation her continuing safety, all the needed capabilities, her full enjoyment of sovereignty and freedom, and her attainment of sustainable well-being.

We shall also contribute the Bayanihan Principle to the collective wisdom of the broader Humanity, so that the international community could consciously apply it in effectively addressing the crisis of planetary climate and ecology, the global crisis of economic mismanagement and on the challenge of building real and lasting world peace.

May we be guided and aided by Bathalang Maykapal and joined by many of our compatriots, so we can fully succeed in all our efforts to bring back the Bayanihan Principle to our social mainstream. We therefore commit, individually and together, to study diligently, deeply, and comprehensively, and to popularize the Bayanihan Principle, in order that this historic task be completely accomplished within our lifetime.

Separate strengths and efforts of individual Filipinos can never suffice; the gigantic pile-up of problems can be defeated only by the synergy of efforts of numerous heroic servants of our national community. Let us synergize our capabilities and bring back the Bayanihan Principle to the mainstream of our life as a nation! MagsanibLakas, Pilipinas!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

(Texted to my friends on the first few letters in my alphabetical cellphone directory. Texting is still going on; finished A-E so far.)

Hi! On my birthday next year, May 10, Election Day next year, I’m asking all my friends to join me in giving our beloved Inang Bayan a special gift: a blessed heroine for the Senate – Ms. Risa Hontiveros, a tried & tested servant of the people, beloved heroine of the “least of our brethren,” one the system cannot change to coopt.

Please help me bring on the fulfillment of this dream gift that I really want to give our country on my next birthday, my 58th, which might turn out to be among my last dozen or so birthdays before I go.

And I thank you all even now and wish you a loving Christmas and a hopeful new year well in advance!